Category: PMP certification

blog post, certifications, Earned value, Earned Value Management, Integrated project monitoring and control, PMBOK, PMP certification, Project Management

Why PMP certified professionals earn 16% more than their counterparts?

Critical Success factors for project success

Projects are considered as successful, if they are completed on time, within budget, met the scope and achieved the business objectives of the project. How do we really achieve Poject sucess?

Initiation

  • Right Project Selection – If the project does not have a strong business case, it will fail eventually

Planning

  • Right project execution strategy (Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid) – A wrong project execution strategy can fail a project. For example, projects where scope is not clear, techno;ogy is new calls for agile / iterative development, till there is clarity. Once clarity is established, the rest of the project can follow waterfall or hybrid.
  • Right tools & techniques (Scheduling, Estimation, Project Management Information Systems) – On many occassions projects fail becuase the right tools are not used effectively.
  • Developing the subsidiary plans – Generally speaking, nothing good happens in projects without proper planning. For project success, one need to plan the following;
    • Quality management plan
    • Communications management plan
    • Procurement management plan
    • Resource management plan
    • Risk management plan
    • Schedule management plan
    • Stakeholder management plan
    • Change management plan
    • Configuration management plan
  • Developing the integrated project plan – For monitoring and controlling at a project level, all the subsidiary plans and the various other lower level plans must be integrated into a cohesive integrated project plan.

Execution

  • Executing the project as per the plan
  • Corrective and preventive actions

Monitoring & Controlling

  • Lag indicators
    • Schedule variance
    • Schedule performance index
    • Cost variance
    • Cost performance index
    • Scope variance
    • Quality issues
    • Risks occured
  • Lead indicators
    • Estmated date of completion (work package, milestone, project)
    • Estimated cost at completion
    • Anticipated risks

Closing

  • Closing phase
  • Closing project

A quick look at the PMP certification

  • Project Management Professional (PMP) is the most popular project management certification in the world. Right now, there are more than 1400000 PMP certfied professionals across the World. According to PMI Survey, PMP certified project professionals earn 16% more than their counterparts who are not PMP Certified.
  • The PMP certification is based on the Project Management Body Of Knowledge (PMBOK) by Project Management Institute (PMI,USA) . The PMBOK covers;
    • Predictive Project Management (Waterfall)
    • Agile Project Management (Adaptive)
    • Hybrid Project Management
  • Before applying for the PMP Certification, it is mandatory to attend 35 hours of formal project management training based on PMBOK.

Eligibility

OR

Exam content

People (42%)

  • Manage conflict
  • Lead a team
  • Support team performance
  • Empower team members and stakeholders
  • Build a team
  • Address and remove impediments
  • Negotiate
  • Collaborate with stakeholders
  • Build shared understanding
  • Engage and support virtual teams
  • Define team ground rules
  • Mentor relevant stakeholders
  • Application of emotional intelligence to improve team performance

Process (50%)

  • Execute project with the urgency required to deliver business value
  • Manage communications
  • Assess and manage project risks
  • Engage stakeholders
  • Plan and manage budget and resources
  • Plan and manage schedule
  • Plan and manage quality
  • Plan and manage scope
  • Integrate project planning activities
  • Manage project changes
  • Plan and manage procurements
  • Manage project artifacts
  • Determine appropriate project methodology
  • Establisg project governance structure
  • Manage project issues
  • Ensure knowledge transfer
  • Plan and manage project/phase closure or transitions

Business environment (8%)

  • Plan and manage project compliance (EHS)
  • Evaluate and deliver project benefits and value
  • Evaluate and address external business environment changes for impact on scope
  • Support organizational change

Why do PMP certified professionals earn 16% more than their counterparts?

  • They understand the critical parameters that must be monitored and controlled for project success
  • They understand the building blocks and their inter-relationships for monitoring and controlling the lead and lag indicators
  • They understand the need for Project Management Information Systems
  • They understand the globally accepted project management vocabulary, hence can communicate better
  • PMP certification is an endorsement for minimum viable professional project management knowledge to be effective in larger projects

Preperation for PMP with a right balance of theory and practice will tremendously crash the learning curve to master professional project management based on a globally recognized standard (PMBOK).

To learn more about the PMdistilled PMP Preperation Program, Click here

certifications, PMBOK, PMP certification, Project Management, Training

Ways to earn 35 PDU PMP training certificate prior to PMP Certification

Is it mandatory to attend courses from Authorised Training Providers (ATP) of PMI to qualify for PMP certification?

The good news is ‘No’. One can attend any instructor led course or self paced course covering the course content recommended by PMI with an end of the course formal assessment. That means, one can attend;

  • Training programs conducted by Universities
  • Training programs conducted by independent training organizations
  • Training programs offered by PMI Chapters
  • Self paced training programs offered by online education providers like coursera etc

In a nutshell, any course which satisfies the following criteria will qualify;

  • Must be of or above 35 hours duration
  • Must be formal
  • Must be supervised by a supervisor / mentor
  • Must cover the PMP syllabus
  • Must have an end of the course formal assessment with certificate

Here is the snapshot of our chat with PMI to verify which substantiates this;

blog post, certifications, Education, Mentoring, PMP certification

Congratulations Mr. Suraj Sambasivam PMP

Congratulations to Mr.Suraj Sambasivam PMP for achieving the PMP credential. Suraj prepared for his PMP credential with the PMdistilled Project Management Professional training conducted by PMRI. It gives us immense confidence when he says he did not use any other reference material except the PMdistilled Guide, Online on demand modules, quizzes, exam practice and the one 2 one meetings with the Instructor. Now we have added mandatory weekend instructor led classes as well, with the hope of speeding up the preparation. When people attend in groups, that will definitely create healthy peer pressure to complete the exam on time. Suraj has given us some inputs to improve the course effectiveness further. We will do that as fast as possible. Once again thank you Suraj for trusting us to be your Project Management Professional Certification coach and mentor.

Project Management Professional
PMP Successs story – Suraj Sambashivam PMP

Click here for more about the PMdistilled Project Management Professional training

Click here for the most frequently asked questions about PMP certification and our PMdistilled PMP certification preparation program

blog post, PMBOK, PMP certification, Project Management

Unboxing PMBOK7 Article#1

This is the first of a series of unboxing PMBOK7 articles explaining PMBOK7 which will help the readers to bridge between PMBOK6 and Agile to PMBOK7 very easily. Again I want to reiterate the fact that the foundations of project management cannot be disrupted very easily. If you know the basics of predictive project management and agile project management, then it is only a matter of establishing a traceability to the PMBOK7 structure. PMI, the publishers of PMBOK have time and again highlighting the fact that PMBOK is only a reference material and need not be mastered and remembered end to end like every other reference material. With these Unboxing PMBOK7 articles, my goal is to make the transition from PMBOK6 to PMBOK7 as smooth as possible.

Structure of PMBOK 7

From PMBOK version 6 onwards, PMI was trying to catch up with Agile Project Management (APM) which is the most suitable for managing certain types of projects, especially those ones where the scope is continuously evolving and the technology component is fast changing. PMBOK Version 7 can be seen as a natural progression of it. Like the 12 Agile Principles, which are the foundation of all agile frameworks, PMBOK7 also has 12 governing principles at the apex level followed by other components as shown in the diagram below.

Click on the diagram to zoom

12 Governing Principles

At the apex level are the 12 governing principles. These 12 principles based on the project management professions ethics governs the actions and behaviors of project management practice regardless of whether one is following predictive or adaptive project management styles.

  1. Stewardship – Be a diligent, respectful, and caring steward
  2. Team – Build a culture of accountability and respect
  3. Stakeholders – Engage stakeholders to understand their interests and needs.
  4. Value – Focus on value.
  5. Holistic Thinking – Recognize and respond to systems’ interactions.
  6. Leadership – Motivate, influence, coach, and learn.
  7. Tailoring – Tailor the delivery approach based on context.
  8. Quality – Build quality into processes and results.
  9. Complexity – Address complexity using knowledge, experience, and learning.
  10. Opportunities & Threats – Address opportunities and threats.
  11. Adaptability & Resilience – Be adaptable and resilient.
  12. Change Management – Enable change to achieve the envisioned future state.

Project performance domains

The second level comprises of the project performance domains;

  1. Team
  2. Stakeholders
  3. Life cycle
  4. Planning
  5. Navigating uncertainty and ambiguity
  6. Delivery
  7. Performance
  8. Project work

Models, methods & artifacts for enabling outcomes

This section at the third level more or less looks like the Inputs, Tools & Techniques and Outputs re-grouped as models, methods and artifacts. For each project outcome we have a set of models, methods and artifacts which help to achieve the project outcome.

At the fourth level is the PMIstandards+ digital platform which will guide on the application of Models, methods and artifacts based on project type, development approach and industry sector.

changes-to-pmbok-guide-7th-edition PMBOK 7th Edition - Coming in August 2021 - What is changing?
Courtesy – Project Management Institute (PMI), USA

New 10 Week PMdistilled PMP Plan / Program based on PMBOK7

agile, blog post, certifications, gig economy, PMP certification, Trends in project management

Project trends 2021

World over the way people work have changed. Organizations are forced to re-think their business strategies to survive first and then to grow in a new world order characterized by;
  • Organizations sparing no opportunity to maintain / improve bottom lines
  • Organizations trying to go-global looking for new markets for existing products and services
  • Organizations rapidly innovating new products and services for their current markets and beyond
  • Organizations leveraging the gig economy

In a nutshell, everything in the corporate environment have become dynamically agile, where business owners are trying their best to maximize return on their investments. As a timely coincidence, leading organizations like the Project Management Institute (PMI) started their initiatives long back to converge the Predictive and Agile Project Management best practices, as if they could foresee the forthcoming new world order well in advance. All these have major impact on how we collaborate and work on projects. The concept of permanent employment have already become a matter of the past, as organizations are actively seeking flexibility in resourcing to optimize costs.

People with proven skill sets and the ability to learn fast with good work ethics will be sought after. Professionals with the ability to deliver value at the right time, with almost zero supervision, working remotely will be in demand globally. The geographical constraints of employment will become almost zero for the right people who can proactively identify the new opportunities and gear up. In this new world order, our professional profiles matters a lot to market ourselves. You are a brand, and that brand has to be continuously nourished to be in demand. This is the right time to equip yourself with new in demand skills supported by globally acknowledged credentials. Project Management 2021, is all about highly skilled, motivated individuals, working on their projects of choice as self organizing teams, demonstrating high degree of work ethics.

Get ready and embrace the Change !

PMdistilled PMP fastrack program

blog post, certifications, Education, PMP certification, Scholarship

Scholarship for PMP Certification

To start with, every month we offer free education to two professionals, who are the most deserving based on their professional track record and the present professional status.

If you really feel that a PMP certification will improve your career prospects , and if you are committed to put in the required effort to complete the PMP preparation course, then apply. It will take approximately 40 hours to complete the course. Upon successful completion of the course you will awarded 40 hours course completion certificate by PMRI.

You can apply by contacting us with a link to your linkedin profile.

We thank our sponsors for supporting us.

Best Wishes

team @ PMRI

Note : This Scholarship covers the 35 contact hours training. The PMP exam fees is not covered as of now. Hopefully we will be able to cover that as well in the future, as we get more sponsors for scholarships.

For the course details click here